Another ce-2 speed question/s

[jimbob]

I get a great sound when the pots are at max but its just subtle (and that sounds good) but if I want more I cant seem to get it (speed). On my commercial Boss Ce2 it get more vibro-ish sounds when the rate is maxed versus this one. Would I add a larger pot for this?

Also there seems to be a more of a full/bassy sound with the commercial where as my DIY ce-2 seems more treble. Any ideas here?

I see Mark Hammer had the same issue

I find the speed range decent, though I might want to add just a touch more speed (e.g., up the rate by 1hz to what's already

[Mark Hammer]

Looking at the Tonepad PDF file, you'll see that the wiper of the Speed/Rate pot goes to R32, a 1M fixed resistor.  The rate at which the LFO oscillates will be dictated by a bunch of things, but what you need to consider is that the rate at which C19 charges up sets the speed.  If C19 is bigger, it takes more time to charge up, and as you know making that cap higher in value will shift the overall LFO range downward.

However, keeping C19 constant, the current-limiting resistor just ahead of it (R32 in this case) will determine how quickly that cap is allowed to charge up.  As such, the value of R32 sets the maximum charge-up rate (minimum charge-up time).  Making it smaller will extend the upper range of LFO speeds a bit more.  So, if'n you need "more", consider dropping it to 820k from 1M.  I wouldn't go much lower or it might get a little unruly.

Why is there variation between CE-2's?  Well, tack 5% tolerance onto all the resistors in that circuit, and even more than that for the caps, and it will be easy to find 10% between-copy differences in maximum speed.

[jimbob]

Thanks- Ill give it a try. I rechecked my commercial ce-2 and they both really are both subtle chorus pedals. Especially compared to may other ones Ive tried.

[Mark Hammer]

When it comes to chorus pedals, they pretty much all use a 50/50 combination of wet and dry, so they are all set for maximum effect.  What makes one "subtler" than another is really the delay range used.  As the delay range starts to approximate that used for flanging, it gets "subtler".  As the delay range gets higher (e.g., from 5-12ms to 7-18ms), the effect starts to get "thicker" and more noticeable.  At the same time the pitch wobble starts to get a little more annoying at longer delays.

What I like to do on my chorusses (6 or 7 at last count) when it is feasible is to install a toggle to select between clock cap values to produce several different delay ranges.  I also install a bass-cut switch for the delay path so that the obviousness of the pitch wobble is reduced at longer delay settings.  My Zombie has 3 delay ranges, a bass-cut switch, and a wet-level control.  These 3 add-ons let you go from very subtle background swirl to in-your-face-HEY-I'M-PLAYING-A-FREAKING-CHORUS-PEDAL! sounds.  Nice when the pedal doesn't hog your tone unless you want it to.

[jimbob]

Ive heard good things about the Zombie. Is there a layout / schematic floating somewhere around here?

[Mark Hammer]

The CE-2 is better, actually, from a noise perspective.  All the mods I note can be easily implemented on virtually any analog chorus (space permitting), including the CE-2.  The Zombie has no distinct advantage over it.  I just happened to make it first and had "all this real estate" in the 1590BB I used.   All the mods I described are on page 2 of the Tonepad project file.

[jimbob]

I re tried it and although it sounds nice there WAY too much treble. Could bass be added into this by adding a larger input or output cap?

[Stompin Tom]

hmmm.... what about the treblier tone issue? I remember others talking about this (and hearing it the sound clips - for whatever that's worth), but I don't remember any explanations or solutions. One of my favorite things about the commerical CE2 (and the old mxr choruses, for that matter) is how warm and liquidy they are... the potential for another bright chorus has caused me to put off a diy ce2 or zombie. Ideas? or am I nuts...

[jimbob]

I dont seem to have this issue with my Diy Small clone. My normal channel is fairly warm,  but when I turn this Ce-2 on it cuts all the snuggly warmth out. Nice and glossy- it just needs some bass.

[DuncanM]

FWIW I changed R32 (the 1Meg) for a 470k to double the frequency of the LFO on my BOSS CE-2. It now gets that fast leslie kind of thing that the stock values just don't allow.
Works great but has since been superceded by a switchable speed/depth Small Clone like the Analogman Bi-Chorus.